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Former state representative dies

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Former state Rep. Russell Autrey, who also served as a deputy chief of staff Gov. Garrey Carruthers, has died. Autrey, who from 1977-1980 was the representative for the seat currently held by Joni Gutierrez, D-Mesilla, died Nov. 14 in Las Vegas, Nev., according to an obituary published earlier this week in the Las Cruces Sun-News. He was in Las Vegas “to complete a construction project,” according to the obituary, but was living in Anchorage, Alaska. Autrey was vice chair of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee from 1979-1980, according to legislative records. Continue Reading

ENMU regents’ president killed in auto accident

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This article has been updated. The president of the Eastern New Mexico University Board of Regents was killed today in a traffic accident near Portales.Alva C. Carter Sr., 68, was pronounced dead at the scene following the single-car accident, the Portales News-Tribune reported. The newspaper quoted State Police Capt. Jimmy Glascock as saying Carter was driving east on N.M. 202 near the intersection with U.S. Highway 70 when, “for unknown reason, his vehicle traveled off the south side of the road and struck a tree, which caused the vehicle to overturn.” The vehicle came to rest upside down. “The Eastern New Mexico University community is saddened to learn of the sudden death of Mr. Alva Carter, president of the ENMU Board of Regents,” Steven Gamble, ENMU president, said in a statement released by the university. “Mr. Carter’s commitment to the university and his strong support of this community was well-known, and he will be sorely missed. Continue Reading

Yates Petroleum gives $500K to Domenici Institute

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Yates Petroleum Corp. is putting up big money to help establish the Domenici Public Policy Institute at New Mexico State University.The company has given $500,000 to the effort, the university announced in a news release. The institute’s aim is to provide a location for scholars to research the work of the retiring Sen. Pete Domenici and to help advance issues on which he has worked. “Sen. Domenici has been a dedicated public servant to the nation, to the people of the state of New Mexico and to those in Artesia and Eddy County,” Peyton Yates, a director on the board of Yates Petroleum Corp., an Artesia-based energy company, said in the news release. “The Domenici Institute will be an advocate for the issues central to the senator’s beliefs and will be a resonating force for the application of sound science to national environmental policy. Continue Reading

The first meeting of the true blue delegation

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Yes, this is the first photograph of the new “true blue” New Mexico congressional delegation. From left to right, the members are 3rd District Rep.-elect Ben Ray Luján, 1st District Rep.-elect Martin Heinrich, U.S. Sen.-elect Tom Udall, 2nd District Rep.-elect Harry Teague and Sen. Jeff Bingaman.The group met on Wednesday for the first time since the election. They gathered in Bingaman’s Washington office, where this photo is taken. It’s quite stunning, really, to see the five Democrats together. Somehow it makes the fact that, come January, there will be no Republicans in the delegation seem more real. Continue Reading

Pearce may run for state GOP chairman

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Former U.S. Senate candidate also considering running for governor or another seat in 2010 Fresh off his loss in the U.S. Senate race, Rep. Steve Pearce is seriously considering running in January for the position of chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico. Though a Pearce spokesman would not confirm it, a number of Republican sources said Pearce talked with several county Republican Party chairs about the possibility during a conference call earlier this week. Word of the call has spread quickly, and the possibility of Pearce attempting to lead the GOP back to prominence is being widely discussed in Republican circles today. “There are several folks who are thinking about running for state chairman. The possibility of Steve Pearce taking up that mantle would be a very exciting one,” said Mark Van Dyke, chairman of the Republican Party of Doña Ana County. Continue Reading

Richardson supports Election Day voter registration

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Gov. Bill Richardson announced today his support for letting people register to vote on Election Day, but his office isn’t saying whether he will propose legislation to allow it in the upcoming legislative session.Richardson made the announcement in a news release as the interim Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee discussed the issue this morning. Currently, the deadline to vote is weeks before Election Day. “We need to make sure that everyone who is eligible to vote has the best opportunity to vote,” Richardson said in the release. “New Mexico has seen great success — in both increased voter confidence and participation — with those election reforms we’ve already enacted, particularly paper ballots. Election Day registration will further strengthen voting in New Mexico by making it easier and more accessible to our citizens.” Several states already allow Election Day registration. Continue Reading

The economic crisis: How bad will it get?

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Government budgetary woes in New Mexico and elsewhere threaten to make things much worse The headlines are everywhere. The state of New Mexico has frozen hiring and taken other measures to cut $200 million from the current fiscal-year budget to avoid a deficit. The Albuquerque mayor is leaving 140 jobs unfilled to trim $20 million from the city’s budget. The Gadsden Independent School District in southern New Mexico is shifting its use of $3.9 million in state funds as a stopgap measure to avoid having to immediately fire 98 people and make other cuts. But Gadsden still has to figure out how to make cuts to next fiscal year’s budget that begins July 1, and layoffs appear likely. Continue Reading

A shameful strategy that didn’t work

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By Bill McCamley“We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.” – Edward R. Murrow After the Nov. 4 election, the Las Cruces Sun-News showed a front-page picture of a man hanging a flag upside down protesting the election of Barack Obama. This is the final sign of a shameful strategy used by some Republicans in recent elections. What is it? Continue Reading

Report: Talk of Secretary of State Clinton premature

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As I’ve already reported, there have been a number of media reports indicating that Hillary Clinton becoming secretary of state was likely or even a done deal. But The Politico says such talk is premature: Clinton isn’t certain she would accept the job even if Barack Obama offered it.If true, that could be good news for Gov. Bill Richardson, who is angling to become the nation’s top diplomat. The Politico quoted a “Clinton insider” who said media reports that portray Clinton as willing to accept the job — one went so far as to state that she had accepted — are inaccurate and “out ahead of the facts.” Clinton, the source was quoted as saying, is “torn” between the possibility of joining the Obama administration and working on health care and other policy issues in the Senate. The media outlet said that matched with what “others close to Clinton” have been saying: that she “is conflicted and the deal far from done.” Continue Reading

Thanks to too much spending, the rainy day is here

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By Dan Foley Now that the election is over and attention can once again focus on our great state of New Mexico, I would like to bring attention to the impending doom facing all of us. After six years of growing government, expanding programs and investing in things like a spaceport, the bill is coming due. We are beginning to hear reports of deficits reaching as high as $1 billion, all this in a state that has a budget of a little over $6 billion. The first question we have to ask is: How did this happen? Of course I already alluded to the “how.” Over these past six years, we successfully did away with the surplus we inherited from Gov. Gary Johnson. Continue Reading

NMSU regents suspend presidential search

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The New Mexico State University Board of Regents on Monday suspended its search for a new president, and plans to start the process over next year when as many as three new regents join the board.Waded Cruzado will remain interim president throughout that time and, though she wasn’t allowed to this time, she may get to apply for the permanent position if she’s interested when the search starts up again next year. Joseph Pfeiffer, a computer science professor and member of the regents’ presidential search committee, explained the situation on Monday in an e-mail to faculty. He said each of the eight candidates invited to off-campus interviews for the job had withdrawn their applications. The search committee had selected five of the eight candidates to invite for on-campus interviews and designated the other three as alternates. The committee, Pfeiffer wrote, planned to publicly name the finalists in late October and “invite them for on-campus interviews by, well, now.” But some dropped out because of a state law that requires that the five finalists be publicly identified, Pfeiffer wrote. Continue Reading

Guv watch: Did he meet with Obama or not?

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Where was Bill Richardson on Friday? That’s a good question.Roughly two weeks ago, sources said the governor had a Friday meeting scheduled with Barack Obama in Chicago to discuss job options. But Richardson spokesman Pahl Shipley told me at the time that no such meeting existed. Then the Washington Post reported Friday evening that Richardson met with Obama that day in Chicago. At the time, Richardson emerged as one of two most-discussed candidates for secretary of state, along with Hillary Clinton. Continue Reading

Transportation secretary announces her retirement

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Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught has announced that she’s retiring at the end of the year, ending a 21-year career in state government.“Rhonda has been an invaluable member of my cabinet for the past six years,” Gov. Bill Richardson said in a news release announcing her retirement. “Since taking over the helm of New Mexico Department of Transportation, Rhonda has transformed the agency into a true multimodal department with emphasis on all modes of transportation.” Faught first told the New Mexico Independent in mid-October that she might retire. In Friday’s news release announcing her decision, she had high praise for Richardson. “Thanks to his infectious enthusiasm and bold leadership, we have been able to make giant strides toward improving transportation in New Mexico,” she said. By retiring now, Faught, who was heavily involved in bringing the Rail Runner to central and northern New Mexico, will continue to make 75 percent of the more than $100,000 she is currently paid annually. Continue Reading

Clinton added to list of secretary of state candidates

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Gov. Bill Richardson has emerged as one of the two most-mentioned candidates for secretary of state, but the other is Hillary Clinton, and she may have already been offered the job.As was first reported Friday by the Washington Post, Richardson met with Barack Obama on Friday in Chicago about a potential role in the president-elect’s administration. Obama met with Clinton Thursday, and the Post reported that sources say she is a “top contender” for the job. The Huffington Post went so far as to report that Obama offered Clinton the job. A Richardson spokesman declined to comment Friday on the meeting. The Washington Post reported that Obama’s short list for secretary of state also includes John Kerry. Continue Reading